Denmark to spend a billion kroner on state aid for green industries in 2024
Denmark is to spend a billion kroner on state aid for green industries in 2024, with the government arguing this is needed to compete against other countries' green subsidies.
"We are doing this because we can see that the competition for green technologies has intensified after Putin's invasion of Ukraine," Business Minister Morten Bødskov said in an intevriew with the Børsen newspaper. "Everyone is fighting to get out of the clutches of his fossil fuels as quickly as possible."
He said that the US's infrastructure bill was ploughing a huge amount of subsidies towards green industries, China had long been supporting the sector, and that other EU countries were also increasing subsidies, all of which, he said, was "intensifying the competition on green workplaces".
Economy Minister Stephanie Lose conceded that subsidising industries had never been a "classic focus area from the Danish side", but said it was necessary to bring in temporary, well-targeted support right now.
The government support is targeted at companies that make wind turbines, wind turbine components, technology for the hydrogen industry and also the power-to-x industry, which can turn renewable electricity into synthetic fuels.
Under the scheme, companies will be able to get grants covering 15 percent of their costs covered via grants, or up to 20 percent via loans and guarantees.
Emil Fannikke Kiær, political director of the business lobby group Danish Industry, welcomed the government's decision to take advantage of the looser rules for state aid for green investments recently agreed within the European Union.
"We are seeing that it is going to be much more attractive to place production facilities in other countries," he said. "We are going to have to jump on the bandwagon and make the playing field more equal for these companies."
DI, he added, did not believe in state aid as a matter of principle and believed it risked being damaging in the long run, but said it was a "necessary evil", given the level of state aid brought in the US and elsewhere.
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"We are doing this because we can see that the competition for green technologies has intensified after Putin's invasion of Ukraine," Business Minister Morten Bødskov said in an intevriew with the Børsen newspaper. "Everyone is fighting to get out of the clutches of his fossil fuels as quickly as possible."
He said that the US's infrastructure bill was ploughing a huge amount of subsidies towards green industries, China had long been supporting the sector, and that other EU countries were also increasing subsidies, all of which, he said, was "intensifying the competition on green workplaces".
Economy Minister Stephanie Lose conceded that subsidising industries had never been a "classic focus area from the Danish side", but said it was necessary to bring in temporary, well-targeted support right now.
The government support is targeted at companies that make wind turbines, wind turbine components, technology for the hydrogen industry and also the power-to-x industry, which can turn renewable electricity into synthetic fuels.
Under the scheme, companies will be able to get grants covering 15 percent of their costs covered via grants, or up to 20 percent via loans and guarantees.
Emil Fannikke Kiær, political director of the business lobby group Danish Industry, welcomed the government's decision to take advantage of the looser rules for state aid for green investments recently agreed within the European Union.
"We are seeing that it is going to be much more attractive to place production facilities in other countries," he said. "We are going to have to jump on the bandwagon and make the playing field more equal for these companies."
DI, he added, did not believe in state aid as a matter of principle and believed it risked being damaging in the long run, but said it was a "necessary evil", given the level of state aid brought in the US and elsewhere.
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